Shoe.



Patented Mar. l3, I900. H. W. FOWLER.

(Application filed June 28, 1899.)

(No Model.)

NITED TATES HERVEY W. FOWLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 645,467, dated March13, 1900. Application filed June 28,1899. Serial No. 722,194. (Nomodel.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERVEY W. FOWLER, a citizen of the United States,and aresident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shoes, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to shoes, and particularly to the construction ofthe upper part or quarter of a shoe, whereby it may be more easily andreadily secured to and-removedfrom the foot.

It consists in dividing the upper part or quarter of the shoe into afront and rear section and making the rear section flexible and of awidth at its base which will permit of its being readily bent back toform an unobstructed rear opening into the shoe for the insertion andremoval of the foot and providing means for detachably securing theadjacent edges of the sections together substantially throughout theirlength.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe embodying myinvention as it appears when fastened upon the foot, and Fig. 2 is aperspective view as it appears when ready to have the foot inserted.

The upper portion or quarter of the shoe is divided into two sections aand c, permanently united to the upper edges of the vamp e f and counterb, respectively, but separable trom each other. The front section 0extends from a point to the one side of the center of the back of theshoe around the front to a corresponding point at the other side of theback, and it may be formed integrally with the vamp e for in a separatepiece or pieces and permanently secured thereto, as

clearly shown. The space at the rear of the shoebetween the uprightedges of the section 0 forms the opening for the insertion and removalof the foot of the wearer, which is opened and closed by the rearsection a. The rear section a is flexible throughout its length and of awidth at its base which will permit of its being readily bent back at apoint adjacent to the upper edge of the counter 12, and it may be formedintegrally with the counter or in a separate piece permanently unitedthereto, asshown. The" space at the rear between the upright edges ,ofsection 0 is preferably approximately as wide as the width of the shoe,so that when section a is bent back, as shown in Fig. 2, there is anunobstructed opening from the upper edge of the counter to the top ofthe shoe through which the foot may enter instead of entering from thetop, as would be the case were the opening formed at the side or rear ofthe shoe by a single cut extending to the counter.

The adjacent edges of the sections a and a slightly overlap, as shown,to permit of their being secured together by means of any suitablefastener or fasteners d, the form of fastener shown in the drawingsbeing the spring or snap fastener commonly used upon gloves, asufficient number of such fasteners being used to practically secure theedges together throughout their length to prevent buckling or openingout of the overlapping edge which would otherwise result from the anklemove ments of the foot of the wearer.

The front section 0 may be made plain, as shown, or elastic webbing maybe inserted at the sides or front, or the ordinary lacing may be addedfor the purpose of adjusting the fit of the shoe, the lacing not beingdisturbed when the shoe is removed from the foot.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

A shoe comprising a vamp and counter and a quarter secured thereto, saidquarter being composed of a front section and a flexible rear sectionpermanently secured at its base to the counter, the said rear sectionforming the back of the quarter and being of a width at its base whichpermits of its being readily bent back adjacent to its point ofconnection with the counter to form an unobstructed rear opening intothe shoe from the counter to the top thereof, and fastening devices atthe side edges of the rear section and cooperating fastening devices atthe rear edges of the front section for securing the adjacent edges ofthe two sections together substantially throughout their length, wherebythe shoe when fastened upon the foot is free from unsecured overlappingedges and from overlapping portions and fastening devices at the extremerear of the quarter, substantially as described.

HERVEY w. FOWLER.

Witnesses:

CHARLES L. HINE, DWIGHT B. GHEEVER.

IOO

